Homeless In America

7 Pages 1735 Words

with our complex and highly
competitive society. According to the Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics
homelessness in America has several causes. One such cause is the
competitiveness of the business market. Companies are no longer as loyal to
their employees as they used to be. Many corporations now use overseas
laborers. Also, a diminishing amount of low-skill jobs, due to industrialization
has increased the chances of low-skilled workers finding employment. The
Chicago coalition for the homeless states that a person must be employed
full time and earn more than $8.29 per hour in order to exceed the federal
poverty level for a family of four. According to the 1997 census report 2.3
million people worked full time but were still below the poverty line. Another
reason for the increased number of homeless is the lack of affordable
housing, especially in urban areas. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
reports that, nationally, 10.5 million low income renters compete for 6.1
million rental units that are within their price range, leaving 4.4 million without
affordable housing. Many low-income areas are being bought out by wealthy
entrepreneurs ...